I typically ride my cross bike as an all-rounder - easy MTB trails, pavement, dirt roads - and when i don't know where to go, I will typically take that bike to be able to explore. Bike is an aluminum frame, steel fork, originally purchased for racing, so tire clearance is not huge. I don't race anymore. I don't need a new bike, the current bike works fine but is 10 years old, so I am considering a new bike mainly just for the fun of a new bike. I am thinking about going modern - carbon frame/fork and disc brakes and 10/11 speed.

Do any of you have experience with long-term durability of carbon frames in off-road situations? They are great for racing, but is this something that I would expect to replace every few years for my kind of riding? My riding is probably less abusive than racing in the long run, so pardon my naivete in this area.

I beat the living bejesus out of my carbon cross bike. Cross racing, single track, canal paths, whatever. It's two years old and looks brand-new-ish, and I could never be described as someone who particularly babies his stuff.

If it's put together properly and not stuffed down to some crazy weight number, carbon is ridiculously strong. Even if it's forced down to some crazy weight number it's ridiculously strong, you just can't hit it with forces it wasn't designed for.

An issue, perhaps THE issue is direct hits on the frame from rocks etc, not a strong point for CF. If you never crash, never have a rock strike, never have the bike slip while parked in rocky terrain, then fine.

The bikes I am looking at are not extremely light - Specialized Crux, Ridley X-Fire, etc. All have good warranties, which makes me think they believe that the bike will last a good number of seasons. The Crux was fun - felt like a road bike on the road, but nice on rough stuff. More test riding required...

I'm a HUGE fan of cross bikes, the Crux is good, the Ridley is better IMHO. Check out the Lapeirre cross bikes if you get a chance, very nice, we brought some into the shop. As for me, I own three cross bikes, a Giant TCX, Aluminum, with a carbon fork, and ALL CITY Nature Boy SS, steel, one of my favorites, did a 48 mile gravel grinder on it a few weeks ago, that bike is a blast, but my Ciocc Volpe Carbon cross bike is the bomb, 17bs right now, maybe 16lbs when I go tubeless, I built it more for durability than light weight, so the weight of the bike was an accident really Don't worry so much about durability of the frame, I ride my cross bikes like mountain bikes in mountain bike terrain about 80 percent of the time and have no concerns about any of them failing